THEY are the people we live close to, share facilities with, and perhaps even wave to occasionally.

But how many of us really know the people in our neighbourhood?

Nabo founder Adam Rigby remembers growing up in a neighbourhood where all the kids hung out together and the families often gathered together for barbecues.

“Talking to people now, it is happening less and less,” Mr Rigby said. “It’s such a shame as there are so many benefits from having a tight-knit community.”

The founder of Nabo, a new social media tool that connects people in real terms, said he was aiming for the venture to become the third social network in Australia.

“You have Facebook for your friends and family, LinkedIn for your career, and Nabo for your local community,” he said.

Nabo has been purpose-built to be specific to your local area, giving you a directory of your neighbours and local businesses, and a diary of local events.

A verification system ensures Nabo is a private and secure network.

The free site also works to create a safer suburb. Members can send urgent alerts via SMS, and authorised local organisations (such as police and emergency services) can send alerts for emergencies.

With more than 6000 suburbs across Australia already registered on Nabo, now is the time to sign up. Just go to www.nabo.com.au and fill in your details to discover more about your neighbourhood.

Former country-town girl Jaime Aiden found Nabo helped her build connections when she moved to a city apartment block.

She has since become a Suburb Lead for Nabo and organised a community barbecue where neighbours were able to meet each other - some for the first time.

Nabo is a joint venture with Fairfax Media, publisher of this website.